title: Identification of novel B cell epitopes within Toxoplasma gondii GRA1.
abstract: Newly synthesized epitopes are one of the most promising antigens for the development of diagnostic kits and peptide vaccines. Very little is known about the B cell epitopes on GRA1 of Toxoplasma gondii, which are recognized by the humoral immune response in pigs. In this study, epitopes derived from GRA1 of T. gondii were identified using synthetic peptide techniques and bioinformatics. Three (PG10, PG13 and PG18) out of the eighteen peptides tested were recognized by all pig sera from different time points after infection, and the other peptides were recognized by select sera from various time points after infection. Our data indicate that many regions of GRA1, and in particular, the regions represented by the peptides PG10, PG13 and PG18, are involved in the pig antibody response. The identification of specific epitopes targeted by the host antibody response is important both for understanding the natural response to infection and for the development of epitope-based marker vaccines and diagnostic tools for toxoplasmosis.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Key Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology of Gansu Province, Key Laboratory of Veterinary Public Health of the Ministry of Agriculture, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou 730046, China. Electronic address: wangyh061001@163.com.
authors.forename: Yanhua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Guangxiang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Delin
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000097:blood; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D018985:Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016056:Immunodominant Epitopes / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D016052:Protozoan Vaccines; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic / Q000662:veterinary; D013552:Swine; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D014124:Toxoplasmosis, Animal / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology*; D022223:Vaccines, Subunit
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D018985:Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte; C412913:GRA1 antigen; D016056:Immunodominant Epitopes; D016052:Protozoan Vaccines; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D022223:Vaccines, Subunit
keywords: Epitope; GRA1; Pig antibodies; Toxoplasma gondii